The Croatian islands are clearly the crown jewels of the country's natural treasures. What could be better than spending a holiday hopping from island to island? The easiest way is to take a small-boat cruise but it is possible to island-hop in Croatia independently by using ferries, public transport or a car.

Choosing this approach means planning your itinerary carefully. Car ferries that connect the coast and the islands run year-round (islanders need transport too!) but there are very few that connect islands. You may need to take a car ferry from an island to the coast and then board another car ferry to get to another island. From around mid-May to early October passenger ferries enter service and the islands are much better connected.

This itinerary covers the islands of Brac, Hvar and Korcula. With more time, you could add Vis island which connects daily with Split and less frequently with Hvar. See getting to Vis.

WITH A CAR

Split to BracTake a car ferry from Split to Supetar (above). This car ferry is one of Jadrolinija's (the national ferry company) most popular. It runs all year round but with greater frequency in the summer when the ferry makes the 50-minute crossing nearly non-stop.

Brac to Hvar
So this leg means taking two ferries as there is no direct car ferry link between Brac and Hvar islands. There are two possibilities that each take about three hours:

1) After visiting Supetar and then Bol on Brac Island, take a car ferry from Sumartin to Makarska. This car ferry also runs all year. There are only five ferries a day to make the one-hour crossing even in high season.

After disembarking, drive down the coast to Drvenik which takes about a half-hour. There's nothing much in Drvenik so you'll want to take the next car ferry for the 35-minute ride to Sucuraj on Hvar Island. The Drvenik-Sucuraj car ferry is frequent all year.

Sucuraj is a tiny, quiet town that is about an hour's drive to Hvar town.

2) It is also possible to return to Split via the Supetar-Split ferry and then take the Split-Stari Grad ferry to Hvar island. There are up to seven ferries daily between Split and Stari Grad and the route takes two hours. It takes about a half-hour to drive from Stari Grad to Hvar town.

Hvar to KorculaAgain, there is no direct car ferry link between Hvar and Korcula. This leg involves three car ferries! First, take the car ferry from Sucuraj to Drvenik, then drive down the coast to Ploce (about a half-hour) and take the car ferry from Ploce to Trpanj. There are up to seven ferries a day that make the one-hour crossing.

But you're not finished yet! Take the short drive from Trpanj to Orebic and then board the car ferry for a quick 15-minute ride from Orebic to Domince, Korcula. The ferry chugs back and forth nearly non-stop all year and Domince is just a few kilometres from Korcula town.

As there is no direct car ferry link between Korcula and Dubrovnik, it's necessary to take the car ferry from Domince to Orebic and drive down the coast to Dubrovnik (2 1/2 hours). It's an attractive drive down the Peljesac peninsula. Stop in Mali Ston for lunch!

WITHOUT A CAR

Island-hopping between Split and Dubrovnik

A flotilla of seasonal ferries makes island-hopping down the Dalmatian coast a breeze from May to October. The rest of the year this itinerary becomes trickier.

Split to BracThere are four possibilities for this leg.

1) Gorgeous Zlatni Rat beach in Bol (above) is a major highlight of Brac island. Take the
passenger boat from Split to Bol that goes on to Jelsa on Hvar island. It runs all year but leaves Bol in the morning and returns from Split in the afternoon. The ride takes about an hour.

For this route, the only possibility is to ditch your car as there are only passenger boat connections. In addition to the ferry combinations below, there is a daily passenger boat that runs from Rijeka to Rab town on Rab island and then goes on to Novalja on Pag island where it's easy to find a bus to Zadar. See the Jadrolinija schedules.

WITHOUT A CAR

Cres to Mali Losinj
Take the same daily passenger boat to Mali Losinj with an optional stop at Unije, Susak or Ilovik island.

Mali Losinj to Zadar
There's a once or twice weekly passenger ferry that starts in Pula, stops in Mali Losinj and goes on to Zadar. Services are handled by Catamaran-Line.

Small-boat Island-Hopping Cruises

One way to see the maximum number of islands in a short time is to take an island cruise either with your own boat or as part of a motorized gulet cruise. Several years ago, I opted for a cruise holiday on a small boat and it was the best holiday (of many) I've had in Croatia. Read about it.